$95,000 Gets Patrol Off On Right Foot

When Aunt Min called the other night, it was for a brainstorming session.

She said she hoped we`d be able to figure out how it can cost $95,000 to teach the Delray Beach police a new system for patrolling the community.

Sure enough, she`d been reading about a proposal under which four police officers, supervised by a sergeant, would begin to patrol by foot or on bicycles in a 28-square-block area from West Atlantic Avenue to Lake Ida Road, and from Northwest Third Avenue to Northwest 10th Avenue.

The commendable objective of such ``community policing,`` as it`s known in the trade, is to allow residents of a downtown neighborhood to get to know the police as names and faces on a daily basis rather than as simply a blur of flashing blue lights at times of crisis.

Instead of only responding to crimes, officers in the community policing program work on crime prevention and problem solving.

``All of which is well and good,`` said Aunt Min, ``but how do you figure $95,000 just to learn how it works?``

IT`S THE OLD CONSULTANCY PLOY

Well, the first group of community policing officers-to-be went to school on Monday, and that`s where most of the $95,000 will be going, too, because $88,133 is earmarked to pay Florida Atlantic University for -- ta-DUM! -- consultant services.

Michael Wiatrowsky, an associate criminal justice professor at FAU, is guiding the Police Department in putting the program into practice, and he says the program is more than fancy words and good public relations.

``There are 500 departments in the country that boast of community or neighborhood policing,`` Wiatrowsky told a reporter. ``Most of those involve just one officer on foot patrol or decals on police cars. There are only about 25 truly committed community policing programs and this is going to be one of them.``

Delray`s program will not be Wiatrowsky`s first, since he helped put the program in place in Fort Pierce, where community policing kicked in last May, nor -- and more to the point, in Aunt Min`s opinion -- will he be starting from scratch in Delray Beach.

``After all,`` said Aunt Min, ``these police officers are already police officers. We`re not asking him to take a bunch of little kids out of Head Start and work with them for the next 23 years. We`re not asking him to introduce men from Mars to the concept of law enforcement.``

THEY`LL CATCH ON PRETTY FAST

``You`re saying his students will already possess at least a rudimentary grasp of police work, is that right, Aunt Min?``

``Exactly,`` she said. ``So how can it cost $95,000 to introduce a new wrinkle to a job these officers are doing already?``

``Sure,`` she said, ``that would explain it. But only if Delray Beach pays the rent, maintenance, utilities, taxes and whatnot for the entire campus.``

``I`m running out of ideas, Aunt Min. Maybe they`re buying videotaped copies of old Adam 12 and Car 54 Where Are You? episodes to use as training films.``

``I just sent away for a video of Michael Jordan playing basketball and it cost $14.``

``Then I give up, Aunt Min. I guess there`s a 900-number consultants can call to get going rates for the industry, and the going rate for taking police officers out of patrol cars and putting them on bicycles just happens to be $88,133.``

``Well, Lord have mercy,`` she said. ``Let`s hope that at least it includes the bicycles.``